


The Boys in the Blue Box

by screamingstrawberry



Category: Doctor Who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamingstrawberry/pseuds/screamingstrawberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On one of his boring trips to Time Square, the Doctor runs into a young man who catches his attention not just because of the alien tracking device on his shoulder. Atlas was content with living a life of people ignoring him, but when he meets the Doctor his whole world flips upside down. The Doctor is determined to show Atlas that he doesn't have to settle for a boring life, and who knows maybe Atlas might teach the Doctor something as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ah New York. The lights and signs trying to get him to buy otherwise useless things as the people rushed through the streets and each person they knocked over saved them five minutes. It was a beautiful city if people just stopped to look at it one and a while. But then again, it was human nature because although he has all the time in the world, you would think these people who could be hit by a car as the crossed the street or shot down in a dark alleyway would stop to smell the flowers at least. 

Thank Gallifrey, the Doctor wasn’t human.

He didn’t get a chance to even feel someone knock him over before he was on his back. He cursed as he tried to get up and fell backwards again. Everyone around him seemed to ignore the crazy man laying out on his back on the sidewalk by stepping over him or walking around him.

“Damn humans.” He mumbled as he tried to get up a third time.

“Are you alright there, sir?” A voice said, causing him to look up. He saw a hand outstretched and he took it, pulling himself upward toward the kind human.

He felt the human pull him away from the sidewalk as the Doctor turned back he laughed at the crowd that resembled a school of fish. He didn’t notice til he turned back that the human was brushing off his jacket for him. The Doctor took this chance to really look at the boy standing before him. 

If any human had looked at him, they would of thought the boy was just at the end of his teens but the Doctor had a sight for these kind of things and knew he couldn’t be any older than sixteen. He had hair that was black as coal that hung over his forehead, a little curls falling on the side. His hazel green eyes sat a little lower on his face than the Doctor would have guessed.

He stood fairly tall, maybe about 5’9 or so. He had a blue t-shirt on with dark blue rings around where the sleeves ended and the head hole was and over that he had a blue jean jacket and his jeans matched it. He looked like the average teenage boy minus the acne. “Thank you, for helping me.”

“If you’re not important to them, then they’ll run you over. That’s why we overlooked people got to stick together.” The boy laughed, taking a leaf off the Doctor’s shoulder.

“I’ve never met a person who wasn’t important.” The Doctor said.

“Well now you have.” The boy said, patting his shoulder.

“But-” The Doctor said.

“Hey I’ve got to run, but you try to stay on your feet alright?” The boy said, raising his eyebrow before merging back into the giant crowd of people. That’s when the Doctor noticed it, there was something on the boy’s shoulder. It was flashing bright red. Catching up to him, he grabbed hold of his shoulders from behind leaning his head to whisper in his ear.

“I can’t explain right now, but you’re going to turn around and follow me. Got that?” The Doctor whispered, and when the boy nodded he turned the boy by pushing his shoulders, and then laughed really loud.

“Come on sport, let’s go get a cup of coffee.” The Doctor mustered his best New York accent, although it sounded a bit more like he was from Boston, but who cared. He felt something following them, as they turned down the alleyway. 

“Now, you want to tell me what’s going on?” The boy asked.

“What’s your name?” The Doctor asked.

“Atlas.” He replied, looking oddly at him.

“Well Atlas, prepare to have your world rocked.” The Doctor said, impressed with how well that line worked. He had just spotted his blue box, and looked around before opening   
the door. He pushed the boy in first, and then shut the doors tightly behind him.

“What is this place?” Atlas asked, looking up and around him.

“This is the TARDIS. Now, how about we see about getting that tracking device off you.” The Doctor said, reaching down into his pocket before pulling out his sonic screwdriver. With a few clicks, the thing unlatched itself from his jacket and fell into the Doctor’s hand.

“Tracking device? Why would anyone want to track me?” Atlas asked, looking at the piece of fabric on his jacket where the tracking device had just been moments ago.

“That’s a very good question.” The Doctor said, bringing it over towards his control center. He didn’t pay attention to the boy as he walked around the room, tracing his hand across the metal railing or scanned his eyes over the things that hung from the ceiling. Some of them, the Doctor didn’t even use, they were just decoration.

“What’s that?” Atlas asked as the Doctor started poking at the device. 

“This? This is my sonic screwdriver.” The Doctor said, waving it a little in the air. 

“What’s it do?” Atlas asked.

“Everything. Well almost everything.” The Doctor shrugged, poking the device again. Atlas walked around to look at all the parts of the control center, brushing his hand underneath it gently. 

“What are these buttons for?” Atlas asked and the Doctor sighed. 

Turning to the boy in his midst, he smiled lightly. The boy’s hand gracefully traced over each button without putting any pressure on it in case he accidentally pressed one, his mouth hung slightly agape, and his eyes traced over every inch once, twice, and then a third time like he was trying to perfectly remember each little detail.

“Well, that’s going to take forever. What do you say we go somewhere in the meantime?” The Doctor said, and the boy’s brows seemed to almost connect in it a curly wave.

“Like to lunch?” Atlas asked.

“Are you hungry, I’m a little hungry. Hm, what about-oh no you got any allergies?” The Doctor asked.

“Bees.” Atlas shrugged.

“Well that cancels out that option. Oh you know what there’s this cute little place on Mars, oh its adorable.” The Doctor said, turning to the steering controls.

“Like the planet?” Atlas asked.

“Well certainly not like the god. I don’t think he’d let us eat on him, all though he was always a bit odd.” The Doctor said, scrubbing his chin a little as he saw the his eyes light up.

“You can go to Mars?” Atlas asked, stepping forward with an excited look on his face. The Doctor turned to see the familiar impressed look in the hazel eyes. He smiled, grabbing hold on the lever as he typed in the coordinates.

“Hold on.” The Doctor winked, pulling it quickly as the boy gripped hold of the control panel. His hands slipped though and as they stopped, he looked down to see him facing upward on the ground. The Doctor lifted him upwards, pulling him into the side room with the space suits. Handing him one of the smallest sizes, he instructed him to put it on.

As the Doctor turned around he smiled at the sight of the teenage trying helplessly to get the suit on. Reaching over he showed him how to put it on, and the boy smiled. “You never even told me your name.”

“They call me the Doctor.” The Doctor smiled.

“Interesting name.” Atlas said, biting down on his lip. The Doctor held back a laugh as he placed a helmet over the boys head. Stepping outside he could hear the muffled sounds of awe coming from the boy. Humans had colonized the planet and it was really cool to look at.

As they stepped inside the restaurant the boy was already asking a million questions. However when the Doctor reached up to lift his helmet off the boy tried to stop him. He laughed, pulling his own off and then the boy’s off. The boy’s hands flew up to his neck as if to check if he was still breathing.

“But how-” Atlas asked.

“Well you see, there’s this force field like thing that surrounds the buildings and homes. It makes it so humans can breathe without having these damned suits on all of the time. 

“I think I’m going to faint.” Atlas said as a blue skinned woman with all sorts of inked markings across her face passed him on the way to the kitchen. The Doctor stood behind him with his arms out stretched just in case as he spoke.

“Now, now. They’re more scared of you then you are of them.” The Doctor said, directing him to one of the tables.

“That’s what my mom says to my sister about dogs.” Atlas said and the Doctor laughed, sitting down across from the boy. As one of the waitresses came by, Atlas stared at her with wide eyes. She had long green hair and her skin was a sun-like color, with a long red snake across her arm.

“Hello again, Doctor. Still running around with your little pink and yellow humans I see.” She said.

“Still serving people I see.” The Doctor laughed.

“Is his face stuck like that?” She asked.

“Don’t mind him, it’s his first planet.” The Doctor said, patting Atlas’ shoulder. The Doctor ordered for the both of them, and then when the food came they dug in. Atlas stuck the fork in his mouth and moaned, making the Doctor laughed.

“This is the best food I have ever tasted.” Atlas whispered looking up at the Doctor. The Doctor watched him carefully, he was smiling back at him, but something about him tugged at the Doctor’s heart.

“What is it?” Atlas asked, lifting his eyebrow. The Doctor sighed, leaning forward on the table to get closer to him. He watched the young man with serious eyes.

“So what’s your story?” The Doctor asked in a very low tone.

“What?” Atlas asked, swallowing a gulp of food.

“You know the stuff that makes you who you are. Whose your best friend or why is your favorite color red?” The Doctor asked, moving his hands around in a circle.

“It’s not, it’s blue.” Atlas said as if he had just told him that two plus two was seven, and the Doctor threw his head back in laughter. 

“That’s a start.” The Doctor said.

“And to answer your other question, I don’t really have a best friend.” Atlas shrugged.

“What am I chop liver?” The Doctor mocked being offended.

“I just met you.” Atlas said.

“Right, right.” The Doctor nodded, placing a piece of food in his mouth.

“What about you?” Atlas asked.

“I’m your everyday time traveler.” The Doctor shrugged.

“I’m pretty sure that’s an oxymoron.” Atlas said, laughing. The pair laughed, and then went silent as they ate their food. The Doctor kept trying to figure out what about this boy made the Doctor have difficulty taking his eyes off him. They finished their lunch and headed back out to the Tardis.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family drama in the next couple chapters. Sorry if its not ur thing.

“So where to next?” The Doctor asked as he took off his helmet. 

“Where do you want to go?” Atlas shrugged, taking off his helmet. 

“Well I mean, I don’t know.” The Doctor shrugged.

He stopped to think for a moment, looking at the boy. Everyone he had ever brought along had always wanted to go somewhere whether it be to see their late father or their future. He could take Atlas anywhere, he could take him everywhere. The Doctor showed him a planet where the people could walk on water, and there was nothing better than the sight of Atlas as he skipped over the water. 

The Doctor took him back to the Tardis as the boy got a phone call. After that, he was abnormally quiet. The Doctor sat in the Tardis waiting for the boy to say what was bothering him but eventually he got tired of waiting. He stood up and started to flick in coordinates.

“Where are we going?” Atlas asked, hopping up. 

“You’re going home.” The Doctor said. 

“No, please. Can’t I stay?” Atlas asked, looking up at him.

“You clearly have someone who wants you home.” The Doctor said, motioning to the phone that was in the boy’s phone.

“But I want to be here.” Atlas said, grabbing the Doctor’s hand to pull him to look at him.

“Atlas-” The Doctor said, he should of thought twice about bringing a teenager on board. After all, they were just tall children who could drive. But the look in the boy’s eyes made it hard to think like that for long.

“Please don’t make me go back.” Atlas whispered, looking down at his shoes, and that’s when the Doctor realized it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was missing home. 

The Doctor smiled, suddenly getting an idea. The Tardis went off again, and Atlas gripped the handlebars tight. When he opened the door again he was confused to be standing outside his house.

“Doctor, did I do something wrong?” Atlas whimpered turning to see the smile across the man’s face fade. 

“I’m not leaving.” The Doctor said, patting his shoulder as he passed the boy to his front door. Hopping up onto the porch, he knocked loudly on the front door and waited for someone to answer.

The door opened but the Doctor didn’t see anyone. He was about to turn to ask Atlas if he had the right address when a voice below him coughed. The Doctor looked down to see a little girl no older than four, with curly red hair that hung over her bright blue eyes leaning against the open door. The Doctor was about to introduce himself when the girl noticed Atlas behind him.

“Atlas!” The girl called running to meet him.

“Teyha!” Atlas laughed, picking the girl up in his arms. The Doctor smiled, as he watched the little girl grip him tightly like if she didn’t he would disappear right there.

“You’re home!” The girl cried into his ear.

“Tey, I was only gone for a couple of hours.” Atlas whispered into the girl’s ear, pulling the girl back from him a little bit so that he could see her face, and gaze into those bright blue eyes of hers.

“I know, but I missed you.” The girl said sticking out her bottom lip. Atlas smiled, bringing his finger up to tap the lip that threatened him and the girl sucked in back in running her tongue across it.

“Let’s go inside, it’s freezing balls out here.” Atlas said, carrying the girl up towards the house. The Doctor planned to wait patiently outside, but Atlas turned to him just before he closed the door.

“You coming?” Atlas asked.

“Why not?” The Doctor mumbled stepping into the small little house. He followed Atlas through the foyer towards the living room, and the Doctor took note of all the little things in the house.

There seemed to be a million pictures of Atlas and this small girl. The Doctor was amused to see a picture of a much younger Atlas with cake across his face and a small baby giggling like she was very guilty. There was all sorts of toys, and books, along with a couple drawings. 

“Mommy, Atlas s’home.” The little girl cried as Atlas sat down on the couch with her in his arms. The Doctor stood behind the couch, looking at everything while thinking of possible explanations for him being in Atlas’ company. Normally with other companions they’d be much older and female so those excuses wouldn’t do. 

His thoughts were broken by the loud annoying beeping of something in the kitchen. The Doctor covered his ears, lifting his shoulders and scrunching his nose at the sound. Atlas laughed at him , clearly not bothered by the sound at all. There were the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and then a woman’s voice called.

“Atlas, darling, will you take that out of the microwave?” A woman called. Atlas set the girl down, next to him on the couch and then got up and headed for the kitchen, which was behind the Doctor.

“Relax, she doesn’t bite. Much.” Atlas laughed as he passed the Doctor on his way towards the kitchen. The Doctor sighed, sitting down next to the young girl on the couch. It was uncomfortably quite for a few seconds before the girl turned to look at him with piercing blue eyes. 

“Who are you?” The girl asked.

“Um, Atlas.” The Doctor called back towards the kitchen as the girl started to stare creepily at him. 

The Doctor squirmed, hoping very much for this soon to be over, as the little girl started to move closer to him he flinched and fell off the couch. The little girl giggled, which the Doctor didn’t find very funny so he ran towards the kitchen. Atlas was putting some kind of food into a large white bowl with his back turned from the Doctor as the woman’s voice called again.

“Kids, dinner.” The woman’s voice said from the bottom of the stairs, the Doctor was suddenly uncomfortable with the amount of new faces so he stood over by the back door hoping to go unnoticed. Atlas held the bowl of what looked like rice and vegetables in his arms as he approached the table.

The woman moved about the kitchen, clearly oblivious to the Doctor, while the young girl sat down next to Atlas. The woman held her finger in the air flicking it as she counted off each child’s head. She was surprised to see the Doctor smiling at her when she counted one more than usual. 

“I’m sorry, I must seem so rude.” The woman laughed, placing her hand over her mouth.

“It’s quite alright.” The Doctor smiled.

“This is the Doctor.” Atlas said starting to serve plates.

“The Doctor?” The woman asked.

“It was a name that just stuck.” The Doctor smirked lifting his shoulders up in a shrug like motion. 

“The name’s Mary.” She said nodding her head slightly. No one really knew how the conversation should continue especially after the Doctor denied having dinner with them. He stood there oddly watching the small little family, listening to chit chat among the children.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Atlas didn’t speak of his travels, and when he was finished he asked to be dismissed to his room. When Mary nodded, he grabbed the Doctor’s hand and pulled him up towards the boy’s bedroom. As the door opened the Doctor looked at the room as if he was studying it. 

There was a small bed pushed up against the back wall of the room with blue spreadsheets. Next to that up against the right wall was a small brown desk with a lamp, a computer, and a head bust of Homer. On the other wall was a dressed and next to him was a bookshelf. This appeared to be the most used item in the room as the books filled it completely leaving only one shelf for trophies like spelling bee participant or science fair winner. 

It was a whole five minutes before there was a knock at the door. Atlas didn’t move from his spot in his desk chair, but the Doctor turned to see the little girl poking her through the doorway.“Atlas.” 

“You can come in Teyha.” Atlas said with a smile. 

“So what’s with Mr. Doctor?” Teyha asked plopping herself down on Atlas’ bed. It bounced, knocking into the wall with a thud sound, and the Doctor watched the two interact with caution.

“It’s just Doctor thank you.” The Doctor said returning his eyes to look around the room again.

“Well-” Atlas paused at the sound of the doorbell. Atlas and Teyha passed by the Doctor on their way back downstairs, and the Doctor followed behind them slowly. Any logical person would of have assumed that it was their father at the door, so the Doctor would have to come up with something on the spot.

“Dad.” Atlas called, confirming the Doctor’s thoughts, as he jumped on the man that was on the older side of age. His hair cut resembled Atlas’ but it was almost completely gray with strikes of brown in it. 

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” The man asked.

“I had a good day.” Atlas said looking back at the Doctor who was on the top of the steps.

“Did anyone notice the police box outside, when did they put that there?” The man said and the Doctor mentally slapped himself, hell he had practically parked it on their lawn.

“They’re putting them up everywhere.” The Doctor said the first thing that came to his mind.

“And you are?” The man asked.

“Pat, this is the Doctor.” Mary said, tapping his shoulder lightly.

“Of what?” The man asked.

“Actually that’s what I came here to talk to you about.” The Doctor’s mouth was moving at free will at this point, thankfully he wasn’t saying completely ridiculous stuff. 

“Why don’t we go to the living room?” The man offered. 

“Teyha, go upstairs, sweetie.” Mary said and the girl nodded. She winked at the Doctor as she stomped up the stairs. The Doctor followed the couple and Atlas into the living room where he sat down in one of the lounge chairs. Atlas stood next to him, while the two took the couch. 

As they were getting settled the Doctor developed the cover in his head, and then gave a look to Atlas that told him to play along. Normally the Doctor wouldn’t go to this much trouble, but something told him the boy was worth it. The man turned to the Doctor. “So you’re who again?” 

“The Doctor. Well Dr. John Smith, but most just call me Doctor.” The Doctor said. 

“Right and what is it exactly you’re a doctor of?” Pat nodded slightly skeptical. The Doctor though about saying time, but that would be way too hard to recover.

“He’s a historian. But he goes to different places, teaches people things and helps them sometimes. He got the nickname from always wanting to make people better.” Atlas said with a smile. The Doctor’s eyes lowered remembering the words from someone else, someone that he never wanted to compare Atlas too.

“Oh.” Mary said, taken aback slightly. 

“And what does this have to do with us?” Pat asked.

“Well it doesn’t, well I mean it has to do with Atlas. Atlas is exceptionally brilliant, and honestly I couldn’t think of anyone better to take the place of my apprentice.” The Doctor said everything from the bottom of his two hearts. One day, he would find out why this damn boy meant so much to him, but for right now it was a subject for later.

“What about school?” Pat asked.

“Trust me dad, everything I learned today from the Doctor is more than any teacher could read out of a textbook.” Atlas said with a glint in his eye that the Doctor was slightly proud of.

“Do you mind if I have a moment with my son?” Pat said, and The Doctor nodded, standing up and walking away from the room but then he heard the sentence repeated. A moment after he saw Mary head towards the kitchen, the Doctor walked up to the top of the steps in an attempt to avoid easy dropping.

He felt someone creeping up behind him and he both relaxed and tensed when he heard the girl’s voice. “You’re taking him away aren’t you?”

He turned around to see the little girl standing in the doorway of her bedroom. He almost wanted to leave right there, despite everything, but then she broke out into a smile, one that put anything he could muster to shame.

“Thank you.” She mouthed as footsteps pounded up the stairs. He turned to see Atlas storm angrily into his bedroom. The Doctor sighed following the boy, and when he poked his head through he was surprised to see the young boy stuffing things into a large backpack. 

“What are you doing?” The Doctor asked.

“We’re leaving.” Atlas muttered.

“Why?” The Doctor said, and Atlas huffed placing his hands down on his bed in a fit of rage. The Doctor walked up behind him listening to the mumbles the teenager huffed.

“They don’t understand, how can I just stay here and do nothing but go to school after I’ve had lunch on Mars.” Atlas said walking over to the little window by the bookshelf, looking out at the moon in the sky.

“Well maybe we should show them.” The Doctor shrugged. After all if he could take Jackie Tyler in the Tardis, he could practically deal with anything.

“Really?” Atlas asked turning around with excited eyes.

“I mean as long as the young lass is good at keeping secrets.” The Doctor was interrupted by the feeling of the boy pressing himself into his chest. The Doctor didn’t have time to react because in a moment he was down the steps again calling for his father.

“Dad, Dad, dad!” The boy shouted, reaching his father.

“Atlas, I’m sorry but-” The man began but the teenager cut him off.

“If I tell you, no show you, why I want, no need to go with the Doctor. Can I go?” Atlas asked, raising his eyebrow at his father.

“Pat , no-” Mary tried to interject.

“The Doctor does deserve a chance.” Teyha’s voice said from behind them.

“I suppose your sister is right.” Pat said.

“Great, let’s go.” The Doctor said with a smile.

“Now?” Pat asked.

“Why not?” The Doctor asked.

“Can I come?” Teyha asked, running down the steps.

“Sure ya can.” The Doctor was feeding the smile across Atlas’ face. Something about it made the Doctor just want to see it more often, see what things made him smile what things didn’t. 

“Trust me, we won’t be long.” The Doctor said, clapping his hands. The family of four followed the Doctor outside to his little blue box that was right in front of the sidewalk.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor opened the doors to the Tardis, proud of the gasps that left the three humans mouths as they entered. Atlas skipped up the ramp gleefully, before turning to his parents and sister who were still amazed at the sight. His sister recovered quicker, running her hands along one of the railing before skipping up to her brother and taking his hand.

“It’s very science-y.” She said, and the Doctor laughed.

“That’s a new one.” The Doctor said. 

“So where to Doctor?” Atlas asked, turning to him. The Doctor leaned back against one of the railings thinking of where he could take them. Somewhere inspiring, somewhere amazing. Ah, he knew just the place.

“Hold on.” The Doctor smiled as he pulled the lever. 

Atlas pulled the hand that was currently holding his sisters and gripped the control panel tightly, while Mary gripped one of the railings tightly. Pat was the only one not to react fast enough, he had been standing in awe near the door, and now he was flat on his stomach against the floor. Once they landed, Atlas let go of his sister’s hand to run over to his father. 

“Dad, are you alright?” Atlas asked, skidding across the metal floor.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He replied. 

“Where are we?” Mary asked horrified.

“Eh, the 67th century approximately. Welcome to the planet Vernica, it’s surrounded by a giant plastic bubble that keeps unwanted visitors out. The sky is purple, and the oceans are clear. It’s almost identical to Earth’s atmosphere except for there’s a little more oxygen in the air so you might feel like you’re on a sugar high. And there’s one other tiny insignificant little detail.” The Doctor said walking over to the doors to open them. The skies were indeed purple, the clouds looked they were made of gold but that wasn’t the half of it. People were floating around in the same dark blue suits that made them look like little stars.

“People can fly.” Teyha said in excitement.

“Well the gravity is low enough for those suits to let them swim through the sky like fish, and high enough for the buildings to not go off into space.” The Doctor said, pointing to a couple of the floating buildings.

“Can we fly?” Atlas asked.

“With those suits we can.” The Doctor said, shutting the doors before turning towards the Tardis and running down one of the hallways. The sound of metal clanking against rubber caused them all to turn back towards the hallway opening where the Doctor was pushing a rack with the blue suits on it. 

“This girl has everything doesn’t she?” Atlas said, patting one of the railings as the Tardis made a humming noise. 

“Yeah she does.” The Doctor said, looking up at ceiling of the Tardis.

“Are you talking about the box?” Mary asked.

“Sh.” Atlas and the Doctor said, as they both reached for the control panel. The Doctor was stroking the panel slightly, while Atlas was staring at his stepmother in horror. 

“Don’t you dare talk about my Tardis like that. You, ape!” The Doctor said.

“What did you just call her?” Pat asked, stepping in front of his wife. The Doctor stepped around Atlas to get closer to his father, staring the man down.

“Alright!” Teyha shouting causing all of them to look at the girl with a confused expression. She huffed, pushing the Doctor back away from her parents.

“How many five year olds do we have on this ship?” Teyha mumbled as she reached up on the rack to grab the smallest of the blue suits.

“She’s got a point.” Atlas shrugged.

After changing, the Doctor opened the doors to the Tardis again. Atlas reached over taking his little sister’s hand in his, and the Doctor was pleasantly surprised to find the little girl gripping tightly at his with her other. He stepped to the doorway, and then pushed off with his foot lifting them off.

“Woo!” Atlas cheered as they were floating just near the Tardis. 

Pat seemed hesitant until Atlas let go of his sister’s hand leaving her with the Doctor as he held out his hand for his father. Pat took his son’s hand, pulling his wife by his other, and the two adults joined them. Pat was nervous, it wasn’t hard to tell as the man’s teeth knocked into each other.

“I’m flying.” Teyha said, doing a backwards flip as she floated.

“Am I dreaming?” Pat shouted.

“Nope.” The Doctor replied.

“Can we go home?” Mary asked. 

“We just got here.” Atlas said.

“Now, please!” Mary said, in a stern voice that made Atlas shiver. 

He looked over to the Doctor and nodded. The Doctor had them all return to the Tardis, closing the doors behind them. The Doctor took them back from where they left, and Mary was pleasantly surprised to see that it was only about an hour after they left. Mary went back into the house with a stride, pulling her daughter by the hand, while the others stood with the Doctor.

“So what do you actually do?” Pat asked.

“I travel in the Tardis, going from planet to planet, time to time, helping people. Where and when they need it.” The Doctor said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

“I shouldn’t even have to ask if it’s dangerous, but I’m going to. ” Pat said.

“Yes. I’ve lost a lot of friends, more than I’d like to admit.” The Doctor said, looking down at the floor of the Tardis. Atlas was leaning against the railing listening in as his father talked to the man. 

“You’re going to protect him, right? I only ask because he’s my son.” Pat said, looking over to Atlas. Atlas moved to stand next to the Doctor.

“Of course.” The Doctor nodded. Pat reached out, patting his son’s shoulder with a smile before turning to exit the Tardis. He gave one last glare to the Doctor before exiting the Tardis. The doors closed, and the Doctor turned to the boy next to him.

“Go. I’m not going anywhere.” The Doctor said, motioning with his head. 

Atlas ran out the doors of the Tardis, tackling his father in a hug from behind. Atlas and him exchanged a conversation before the boy ran back into the house. A couple of moments later he came back out the door with his stepmother and sister behind him and the large backpack on his back. 

“Be careful now.” Mary said, ignoring the fact she really didn’t want him to go off with the Doctor.

“I will.” Atlas said. 

Just before reaching the Tardis doors again, he stopped. He turned around pulling his sister, his stepmother, and his father into one last hug before leaving with the Doctor. The Doctor tried not to stare, but then when Atlas pulled away he stood back up straight.

“You’ve got everything?” Pat asked.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something.” Atlas mumbled.

“You probably are.” Teyha laughed as her brother reached the doors. 

Atlas turned to smile at the Doctor, and he took the bag from him placing it on the floor of the Tardis. Atlas turned to wave to his family before the doors to the Tardis closed behind him leaving him in the Tardis alone with the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a whole sum of a half hour that it took the Doctor to show Atlas his room and let him unpack before he got a distress signal. The pair of boys looked to each other before the Doctor typed in the coordinates, it was an alien planet and apparently there was some kind of siren attacking the members of the royal family.

Upon landing the Tardis the Doctor and Atlas stepped out, discussing the planets inhabitants when they turned around to see multiple swords pointed at them. The pair held their hands up in defense, until a man’s voice cleared it’s throat.

“Who dares enter the sacred castle of Rothmore?” The man’s voice said.

The Doctor moved to reach into his coat pocket, and the swords got closer. Atlas moved closer to the Doctor not liking the incredibly pointing objects. The Doctor flipped open the leather wallet and there was a blank piece of paper there.

“I’m the Doctor.” The Doctor said. The man stepped closer, revealing a short yellow skinned man. Atlas had remembered the Doctor calling him yellow, but he was more peach colored, this man was like yellow.

“Very well. I will show you to your room.” The man said, and the swords dropped. 

Atlas almost asked the Doctor what the hell had he done for his name to have that kind of power, but chose not to. His eyes grazed over the castle as they walked through the hall, there was a black fog that covered the ceiling making it seem very dark and mysterious. They were about halfway down the hall when they were stopped by a boy just as yellow.

“Doctor!” The boy, not much older than Atlas, cried. He walked over, pulling the Doctor into an embrace, and the Doctor returned it. But even more so, the boy leaned over and pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek. The man they had been walking with straightened his back, and Atlas felt incredibly awkward all of a sudden.

“Prince Maddoc, how are you?” The Doctor laughed.

“Sir.” The man from before said.

“Wilimar, you weren’t rude were you? Oh he’s so insensitive sometimes. Forgive him.” The prince said.

“It’s quite alright.” The Doctor smiled.

“The Doctor is the Lord of Time, and he deserves your uttermost respect.” The prince said pointing at the man before dismissing him. Atlas didn’t feel any less awkward with one less person in the hall gone, and finally the Doctor introduced him.

“Prince Maddoc, this is Atlas. Atlas this is Prince Maddoc.” The Doctor said. Atlas held his hand out for a shake but then the boy brought him into an embrace. Atlas didn’t feel too comfortable with the kiss he got either.

“Are you staying?” The prince asked.

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded.

“Oh you absolutely must stay in my hall. Come with me I will show the way.” The prince said. Atlas and the Doctor followed him in through a door to which led to another hallway. The prince explained where his room was, and then showed them into one of the other rooms beside it.

“This is where my twin cousins were staying, before well.” The prince looked off towards the window.

“Don’t worry, we’re on it.” The Doctor reassured him. 

The prince left them in the room alone with that, telling them if they needed anything to walk through the joint door on the side of the room. The Doctor sat down on one of the beds, and Atlas took the other. He waited for a couple minutes, before the Doctor cleared his throat to let him know he was going to start speaking. 

“I was here a couple months ago and I helped find some little bug that was making the King sick.” The Doctor said, and Atlas nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at him. He then brought his hand up to his cheek, and made a disgusted face.

“He hugged me. And then he kissed me.” Atlas said, and the Doctor laughed.

“It’s their way of greeting. There’s some clothes in the closet, I’m going to go change. You might want to as well, they don’t do too well with newcomers.” The Doctor said. 

And with that he was alone. He took the Doctor’s advice and turned towards the closet, and opened the sliding door. He took one of the hanging outfits, and took off his shirt. He placed it over the blue shirt that was there, making sure they were at least similar in size before stripping his jeans off to change into the long black trousers that was with the outfit. 

“Maddoc, are you there?” The female voice called, and Atlas made the very big mistake of turning around. Standing there in what looked like a towel was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

“Um, no.” Atlas said, nervously. 

“Oh hello.” Her voice was sweet like honey, but then again he couldn’t remember if he had ever even tasted honey. 

She was yellow, but not as yellow as the men had been, no she looked almost human but with a tan. She had long blood red hair that fell to her elbows. And her eyes, oh her eyes, they were red but they had orange circles that surrounded the top of them like makeup. And then, while he was staring at her, he realized she was getting closer.

“What do they call you?” She asked, stepping closer to him.

“Oh no, you don’t need to hug me.” He said backing away from her. He knew very well that if she let go of that towel it would fall to the floor, as if the fact that he was a teenage boy staring at a beautiful alien in towel wasn’t doing enough to embarrass him. Alien, that’s what he had to remember, that she was alien. 

“Don’t be so rude.” She said, wrapping her arms around him. 

But what it looked like it was as if the towel tightened itself on her once she let go and as she pushed her chest against his he realized that aliens weren’t as different from humans as he’d thought. Then he felt her breath on his face, and then her soft lips were pressing against his cheek. But they were gone as soon as they’d came and she backed away from him, leaving him looking breathless as she played with ends of her hair.

“So what do they call you?” She asked.

“Oh, they call me, oh yeah. My name. Atlas.” He said, trying desperately to catch his breath.

“Atlas. My name is Faye.” She said, stepping closer to him. She was hovering so close to him, and he was going to go insane. He needed to get some clothes on now, after all he was only a teenage boy. 

“Ah! I see you’ve met our ward.” The prince’s voice, thankfully, broke the two apart. Atlas turned to see the Doctor standing there with the young prince in the doorway, the Doctor clearly amused at the sight.

“Yes.” Atlas nodded turning away from them all to finally put the pants on. He reached for the button up shirt, putting it over him and when he went to button it Faye moved closer to him once more.

“Here, let me.” She smiled.

“No really.” He blushed.

“Please. I’ve been helping the royal family in more than ways you can imagine. If you know what I mean.” She said, running her tongue along the outside of her bottom lip. She was staring at his eyes, not even needing to look down as she buttoned his shirt.

“Right, yeah. Oh. Oh.” He said, eyes widening in realization.

“You have beautiful eyes.” She said. 

“Thank you.” He replied. 

“The Doctor is the Lord of Time, Faye.” The prince said causing her to look over at them. She nodded her head, and turned back to look at Atlas once more.

“So are you a ward as well?” Faye asked.

“He’s my nephew.” The Doctor said the first thing that came to mind. Atlas nodded his head in agreement knowing very well that if the Doctor were to call him his ‘companion’ it would of made everything seem so much worse.

“Oh really.” Faye brushed past him, picking the brown coat off the bed, before draping it over his shoulders. He stuck his arms through and she straightened it out the rest of the way.

“Do you have a head of security?” The Doctor asked.

“Wilimar, you met him this morning.” The prince said.

“Atlas.” The Doctor said, causing the boy to turn his head away from the pretty girl in front of him. The Doctor motioned towards the hallway and Atlas nodded, passing the girl before following after the Doctor.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor and Atlas found Wilimar pretty easy, and the Doctor had asked him for the list of people that had come into the castle since the royal family starting dying. Wilimar told them he had seen a woman come in for the ball a couple of days ago mumbling something odd. He and Atlas found the woman’s shop, knowing well if she was the siren and there was another ball tonight that she would probably attack again.

“Hello again.” Faye’s voice caused them both to turn around.

“Hi.” Atlas said.

“We just keep running into each other.” Faye said holding up a basket of stuff from a shop.

“Must be fate.” Atlas replied.

“I was actually hoping to help you get ready for the ball tonight.” Faye said. 

“Sorry, we’re busy.” The Doctor said.

“That’s too bad.” Faye frowned. It tore at Atlas’ heart, he looked back at her once before turning to the Doctor. He stepped closer to him, to whisper in his ear.

“I’m sure we have some time to spare.” Atlas shrugged.

“If you wish to go, you can.” The Doctor said, watching as the boy chased after the girl on their way to their castle. What did he expect? Atlas was only a boy after all, and no boy could resist a pretty girl. As the Doctor stepped into the little shop, a chill coursed through him and he heard an old woman’s voice.

“The one who sleeps with the noble. That is the one you seek. Give her this in intimacy and she will burden no more.” The woman’s voice said and a wind blew before he knew it the Doctor looked down to see the small berries in his hand.

On his way back to the castle, he was disappointed to see the ball had already begun. As he entered, he passed Wilimar, and decided maybe he could help. “Wilimar, who sleeps in the prince’s hall?”

“Just his family. You and the boy now. Oh and the ward.” Wilimar said. The ward, the ward? Faye! Oh no, Atlas. The Doctor saw them near the prince and he knew he would have to devise a plan soon. What was intimate? Kissing, kissing was intimate. 

“For the first dance, please everyone pick a partner.” A man’s voice said, the Doctor made his way over to them when he felt someone take his hand. Turning he saw Prince Maddoc with a smile across his face.

“Care to dance, Doctor?” The prince asked.

“Sure.” The Doctor complied, following the prince out onto the dance floor. 

Atlas and Faye were just near them, and the Doctor knew how this dance went. Every time the bridge started again you were to change dance partners. It only happened twice, and then the last one you were to switch back to your original partner, so the Doctor would have to be close to them to get to Atlas.   
When the bridge came, the Prince turned away from him, and the Doctor turned to see the very ward in front of him. He took her hand, and the dance begun again.

“So if you’re the Lord of Time, that would make Atlas a lord as well.” Faye said.

“I suppose so, yes.” The Doctor said. He turned around to look at Atlas who was very uncomfortable at the fact of having to dance with the prince. The bridge came again, and the Doctor practically through Faye out of the way. He was happy to have Atlas in his hands, and as he reached into his pocket he took out the berries.

“Here, let these melt in your mouth, do not chew or swallow.” The Doctor said.

“Why?” Atlas asked.

“Well, they’re something these people use when they kiss. I assume that’s the next step for you and the ward.” The Doctor said, but the bridge was changing again so he threw one of the berries into his mouth before he returned back to Faye.

“Hello again.” She smiled.

“Hi.” He replied.

“What are you doing?” She asked in a sweet innocent voice as she saw him moving his face closer to hers.

“Sh.” He whispered before clashing his lips against hers. 

She smiled into the kiss, but then bit down on his bottom lip, causing him to gasp and open his mouth. Her tongue slipped in, and he melted into the kiss. When they pulled away from each other Atlas found the berry was not in his mouth anymore, and as he looked to her he saw her swallow. 

The song ended, and the Doctor came running to Atlas’ side. “Atlas, back away from her.”

“Why?” The boy asked.

“She’s the one who’s been killing all the men.” The Doctor said.

“Like a siren?” Atlas asked.

“No those go whoo whoo, she’s all murder time!” He said, waving his hands about. If anyone else had heard him they would of sworn he was crazy, but then Faye laughed.

“Oh poor Atlas. You thought I was actually attracted to you.” Faye said, as she started to shake.

“What’s happening to her?” Atlas asked, as pieces of her skin started to fall off like they chips from a battered wall.

“Those berries, aren’t good for her.” The Doctor said.

“For a Lord of Time, Atlas, you’re pretty clueless.” Faye said, as she was almost soon just a ball of light.

“I’m the Prince of Time.” Atlas said before she burst and was left with nothing but golden lights that scattered themselves across the ceiling of the castle. 

“Prince of Time?” The Doctor asked.

“It sounded cooler in my head.” Atlas shrugged.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor had to take him home after that, not just because he was almost killed by a girl who thought he was some kind of noblemen, but because he had a big test in the morning that his stepmother wouldn’t let him miss. He could miss the whole year of school she had said, well technically the Doctor could take him back to any day he wanted, but he had to go to this test. It was some kind of American state test thing, the Doctor had always thought the Americans were a bit odd. 

And he was going to take him to see the Space Race of the 37th century, where Ireland crushed Germany by a landslide, well technically it was an asteroid storm, but it was still put off because of this stupid test thing. He could told the boy anything he needed to know, but then again who knows what the Americans put in those textbooks of theirs. He waved the boy off while his friend greeted him at the end of the parkway. Atlas told the boy he had been traveling with his uncle, leaving out the important details of time and space of course. The Doctor was always amazed at how that boy seemed to be just a tiny little step ahead of him sometimes.

The Tardis hummed in his ear and he sighed. “I miss him too, you know.”

The Tardis hummed again and the Doctor sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. There’s only so many centuries you can spend with me before you get sick of me.” 

The Tardis sighed, and he did too thinking of what he could do. He could go to another planet, come back. Nah, Atlas would be able to read it across his face. He wished his mind would just let him relax, enjoy the time to stand still but it was taking him in the completely opposite direction.

What if Atlas realized he missed so much with his friends and didn’t want to come back? What if the Doctor has to be called away, dies then regenerates and Atlas won’t want to travel with him anymore? What if something happened to the boy while he was in there? He sighed again, out loud this time, and leaned back in the chair. “I’ve forgotten this feeling. Constant worry.”

The Tardis hummed again. “No, no, he’s going to be fine.”

Somehow the Tardis knew that the Doctor didn’t fully believe that mumbled statement, so she hummed once more in his ear. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. I’ll just go in there, just to check.”

The Tardis sighed as the Doctor left, coat in hand. He marched through the front doors of the school, and was surprised to feel a hand push on his chest and stop him. He looked up, smiling at the bald man that greeted him. The man asked him who he was and he pulled out his psychic paper. 

“Ah yes, here for the test. Please follow me to the gym.” The man said.

“The gym? What kind of test is this?” The Doctor asked.

“We don’t have a classroom big enough for the entire school.” The man said. 

The Doctor realized he had said that last bit out loud. He walked through the empty hallways, looking into classrooms despite them all being empty. Then the man stopped in front of one set of double doors and opened it for him. He stepped through, although the man did not he did address the very front of the gym.

“He’s from the state.” And with that the door closed very, very loudly. The Doctor smiled sheepishly taking in all of the eyes that were now on him.

The desks were set up in at least fifteen rows across the gym and there were five longer desks in the front, one of them empty. The students were all sat at least a foot from each other in all directions with the aisles slightly larger. In the two minutes he stood at the door taking it all it, no one had spoken. 

Then a lady in the front cleared her throat, pointing towards the empty desk and he nodded. Quickly ducking into one of the rows he walked all the way to the front, the sound of the bottom of his boots against the floor was the loudest noise there. He slid into the seat behind the desk, watching the one woman address the students.

“Now that our state proctor has joined us, you may flip over your test booklets to the cover page. Please print your first and last name, teacher, grade, and the date where the spaces have been provided. After that, you may begin. I remind you now communication devices of any kind are allowed to be present during the test, if we find one of these items your test will be confiscated and you will receive no grade.” The lady said.

“Harsh.” The doctor mumbled, watching as the students turned their heads simultaneously to him once more. Blushing, he turned to look down at the piece of paper in front of him. 

“Please answer all of the questions in your test booklet on your answer sheet. You are given five hours to complete the test, and you are not allowed to leave until the three hour mark. You may begin.” She said, and then she turned the microphone off. 

She walked over to him, and he didn’t look up. He didn’t want to, even if it made him feel like a child. He felt her hands lean on the desk, and her head was hovering near him and he turned to look up at the woman. She had short blonde hair and her eyes stared at him with a bit of glare.

“Who are you?” She asked, in a very demanding voice.

“I’m Dr. John Smith. I’m from the State.” He replied, before looking down at the piece of paper in front of him. It had ‘NY State Assessment, Proctor’s Edition’ written in bold across the front. The packet looked too neat for it’s own good, he thought as he flipped through it. All of the pages were stapled in the exact same place, no line or tiny printed letter was out of place. He didn’t look up this time, kept his eyes focused on the packet, when he spoke.

“And you are?” He asked.

“My name is Miss Catalone.” She replied.

“Not married?” He asked.

“That’s none of your business.” She replied.

“Just making conversation.” He finished. 

She walked away from him, clearly annoyed but also a little bit interested in him. She was probably wondering who the strange, older man was that had just walked into her school. When she was back at her desk, the Doctor looked up scanning the room to see if he could find Atlas. He didn’t see the boy, but then again there was almost a hundred students in the gym. 

It was just at the hour mark when the Doctor finally spotted him. It was really only because the boy had his hand raised high in the air, the Doctor stood up from his spot and walked down the row as quietly as he could with his feet clomping under him. As he reached his desk, he leaned down.

“What are you doing here?” Atlas whispered.

“Didn’t you hear, I’m from the State.” The Doctor nodded. 

He turned away from the boy as he sighed, and headed back up towards the front. He sat back down in his desk, waiting for the three hours to be up so that he and Atlas could leave. The boy was exceptionally brilliant, and it surprised the Doctor to find he wasn’t done already. The test couldn’t be that hard.


End file.
